Vending apparatus



(No Model.)

VENDING APPARATUS.

No. 465,373. 'Pawnted Deo. 15,1891.`

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTIAN HESS, -OF STEELTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

lVENDlNG APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 465,373, dated December 15, 1891.

Y I Application led J'nly 21, 1891. Serial No.4:00,199. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, CHRISTIAN HEss, a citizenoftheUnited States, residing at Steelton, in the county of Dauphin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inVending Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improved coinoperated vending apparatus particularly designed for selling stamped envelopes, lettersh eets,postalcards, stamps, and such articles, though the same principle could be applied to the sale of other articles. Heretofore many devices for this purpose have been invented and some havebeen put upon the market. Y Thesev are all more or less defective, however, by reason of verycomplicated mechanism, which renders them liable to get out of order and of courseadds greatly to the cost. My object therefore is to provide a vendingI apparatus which shallbe simple in construetiomcomparatively inexpensive to manufacture, and very effective in operation.

My invention therefore consists, primarily, in a vending apparatus comprising an article-v carrier, a slide, a coin-operateddetent for said slide,'said slide being adapted to be grasped by the operator and in direct engagement with the carrier to give the same a step-bystep movement, and adapted also in its outward movement to positively deliver an article.

Finally the invention comprises various details of construction and arrangement of parts, all as hereinafter described, and referred to in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inl which- Figure l is a front elevation, partly in section. Fig. 2.is a front sectional elevation, the outer casing being removed, on line x @c of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a section on line y y of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the operating mechanism, the rotatable carrier being removed.

While I have herein shown an apparatus adapted to the sale of envelopes, it will be understood that I do not limit myself in this respect, since the same general construction will suffice equally as well for the sale of stamps, letter-sheets, postal-cards, tickets, newspapers, and other articles.

In the drawings, A' represents the outer casing inclosing the operating mechanism of my apparatus. This can be made of wood, metal, or any other desired material. As herein shown, the lower part projects beyond the upper part, forming a ledge, upon which is hinged the lid a, provided with the coinslot a and curved chute b therefor. An opening is provided in the loWerpart of the box for the reception of a drawer c, into which the coins after performing their work are deposited. This drawer can be locked in any suitable manner. The front of the box or casing is provided with a movable panel B, resting at its lower end in a groove formed in the hinged lid a and adapted to be secured by a padlock or any other suitable means to the top of the box or casing. This removable panel has a suitable slot cl, through which the articles are delivered to the purchaser.

The carrier for the articles is shown in Fig. i

2 in front elevation, (marked C.) It rotates upon a suitable axle D, secured at one end to the rear inner faceof the casing. This carrier C smadeof dierent thicknesses to correspond with the lengths of the articles to be delivered, and the number of compartments vary according to the number of articles it is desired to deliver before renewing. carrier is herein shown as composed of a suitable sleeve E, fitting upon the aXle D. At one end of this sleeve is attached the disk e. Secured upon this sleeve E (though the two may be in one piece) in front of the disk e,

The said and preferably extending its whole'length, is A the sleeve f, provided with a number oflongitudinal slots g to hold one edge of the article to be sold. Attached tothe periphery of the disk e at one end and at the other end supported by an annulus h of Wire are strips F, having slots g corresponding to the slots g in the sleeve f. The articles to be sold are thus held in position by the slots g and g. The top surface of the strips F are cut away at the rear of the carrier, so that the envelopes or other articles project beyond the slots IOO hereinafter described, and pushed out through the delivery-slot in the vfront panel. From the periphery of the circular disk e projectV pins G, so arranged that the slide which forces out the article can pass between them and.

the cam on the slide can act to give the carrier a step-by-step movement.

Beneath the coin-chute b Ais an inclined coinway b', supported from t-he casing and opening at its inner end into a second inclined pivoted coin-trough H. p This trough is pivoted at its inner end between two uprights I I, attached to the bottom Vof the casing, and is closed at its inner end to prevent the escape of the coin. This coin-trough H is normally held in position to register with the inclined way b by means of a weight secured on the end of a wire e', bent, as shown, to bear normally against the under side of a detent J. This detent comprises a suitable rod pivoted at one end to the side of the casing and at the other end normally engaging a notch l in the slide K, shortly' to be described. The detent J is guided in its upward movement by means of a slot 7o, formed in the plate j, attached to a supporting-bar L, extending across the casing. The weight of the rod andthe weight on the end of the wire t' are such that the inclined coin-trough H is normally against the inclined way b', and the detent J is normally in engagement with the notch Z in the slide K. When a coin of proper weight is dropped in, however, the inclined coin-trough will swing downward on its pivot and raise the end of the detent J from its engagement with the notch in the slide, thereby allowing the same to be pulled forward. This slideis marked K. -As shown,itex tendsthrou gh to the exterior of the casin g, being provided on its outer end with convenient means for catching hold of it. It is provided with a suitable longitudinal slot m, through which passes a set-screw n into the' supportv ing-bar L, the slide being guided by said setscrew and slot in its forward and backward movement. This slide K is, asv above speciiied, provided with the notch Z, in which the end of the detent J normally rests. Extending to the rear of this notch is an upward inclineo, formed on the slide, adapted, when the slide is pulled forward, to cause the end of the detent J to ride up on it, thereby raising the detent beyond the point to which it has been raised by the weightv of the coin. This -additional movement of the detent is communicated to the inclined coin-trough located over the money-drawer through the wire t', which, while normally bearing upon the under side of the detent J, is itself elevated in the movement of the detent up the incline by means of the arm p extending down from the detent-rod and below the wire. The rear part of the slide is thickened and provided with a raised portion q of a width just suiiicient to pass between any two of the pins on the periphery of the rotatable carrier. Secured to this rear part is a plate r, having an inclined slot sextending transversely therethrough., The part in rear of theslot s projects slightly to one side and acts in the forward movement of the slide to guide the pins into the slot, and in the further movement to force the wheel one step to the left. In rear of this slot is a projection t on the slide adapted to come in contact with the rear of the envelope or other article and force it through the delivery-slot. The slide is returned to normal position byasuitable spring S, the part of the plate r in front of the inclined slot s being pointed to prevent the pins catching against the same in the backward movement. A rod T on the slide K serves to guide the end of the detent J in itsmovement up the incline and prevent its vertical displacement.

Many changes and modifications may be made in the construction of the parts of my apparatus without depart-ing from the spirit of my in ventio. For example, the details of construction of the slide may be changed, the main part' and parts acting on the pins of the carrier may all be made in one piece, or the two parts in front and rear ot' the inclined slot may be two separate pieces. So, also, all the special parts may be changed in a variety of ways, and I therefore do not wish' to limit myself in any way to such details of construction.

The operation of the device is as follows:

The coin dropping through the chute traverses the inclined way b and falls into the pivoted inclined trough H, depressing the same, and by reason of the bent wire il, bearing against the -rod of the detent J, raises said detent out of the notch in the slide K. The slide K is thereupon pulled forward, the detent J riding upon the incline o, whereby the arm p on the detent lifts up the wire 't' and tilts forward the coin-trough, dumping the coin into the drawer C. At the same time one of the pins on the carrier is forced through the inclined slot s, thereby moving the wheel one step, and in the continued movement of the slide the projectiont acts against the rear end of the envelope to force it out from the compartment throughthe delivery-opening.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

l. A vending apparatus comprising asuitable movable carrier for the articles, a slide adapted to be grasped by the operator and in direct engagement with the carrier for giving a step-by-step movement to the same, said slide provided, also, with means whereby in its outward movement it acts against an article for delivering the same, and a coinoperated detent for said slide, substantially as described.

2. Avendin g apparatus comprising a rotatable carrier having pins upon its periphery, a slide adapted to be grasped by the operator and in direct engagement with the pins to rotate the carrier, a coin-operated d etent IOO IIO

engaging said slide, and a projection carried by said slide for forcing out the articles from the carrier, substantially as described.

3. A' vending apparatus comprisinga rotatable carrier having pins or projections upon its periphery, a slide adapted to be grasped by the operator,a coin-operated detent for said slide, said slide having an inclined slot for the passage of the pins and acting directly on said pins, whereby the carrier is rotated, and a projection on the end of the slide, adapted in the outward movement thereof to force out the articles from the carrier, substantially as described.

4. A vending apparatus comprisingarotatable carrier havingrpins or projections upon its periphery, a slide adapted to be grasped by the operator and in direct engagement with the pins, a coin-operated detent for said slide, a plate or plates on said slide, having an inclined slot formed therein for the passage of the pins, whereby the carrier is rotated, and a projection on the end of the slide,

adapted in the outward movement thereof to force out the articles from the carrier, substantially as described.

5. In the described apparatus, a suitable rotatable carrier having a slotted sleeve or hub to it over the axis, and peripheral strips slotted correspondingly and cut away at the inner end, in combination with a suitable coinoperated slide provided with means for forcin g out the articles from the slot, substantially as described.

6. In combination with the casing, the axle 3 5 attached thereto, the carrier having a slotted sleeve fitting over said axle, a disk at the inner end vof said sleeve, slotted strips extending beyond the plane of the periphery of the .disk at their front but at the rear flush `therewith, the articles being held in said slots and at the rear projecting beyond said slots, pins arranged on said disk behind and upon either side of the projecting edge of the articles, a suitable coin-operated slide provided with a cam for rotating the carrier, anda projection for engaging the projecting edge of the article and forcing out the same, substantially as described.

7. In a vending apparatus, a coin-chute, a pivoted trough normally registering with the end thereof, a rearward projection on said Witnesses: Y Guo. L. CLARK, CHAs. L. STURTEVANT. 

